Paying for care through a deferred payments scheme

If you need to pay for your care but can't access all your money (for example, because it is tied up in a property you own) then a deferred payment agreement might be the right option for you.

Deferred payments have been introduced nationally as part of the Care Act and mean that people should not have to sell their homes to pay for their care, as they have sometimes had to do in the past.

With a deferred payment agreement we pay an agreed part of your weekly care and support bill for as long as necessary. You also pay a weekly contribution towards your care – that you have been assessed as being able to pay – from your income and other savings.

You can delay repaying us until you choose to sell your home, or until after your death.

How to find out if you are eligible for a deferred payment agreement

Deferred payment agreements will suit some people’s circumstances better than others and not everyone will be eligible. You should be eligible for a deferred payment agreement if you:

• are receiving care in a care home (or you are going to move into one soon)
• own your own home (unless your partner or certain others live there)
• have savings and investments of less than £23,250 (not including the value of your home or your pension pot).

Deferred payments calculator

Use this calculator to give you an indication to whether you would be eligible to apply for a deferred payment and the amount you may receive. We recommend using the calculator using modern browser (IE9+, Chrome, Firefox, Safari). The calculator does not replace our financial assessment.

When to repay a deferred payment agreement

You have the option to sell your home and pay us back at any point. Or you can have a deferred payment agreement for the full length of your stay in a care home and pay it back out of your estate, following your death.

The amount you can defer by having a deferred payment agreement

The amount you can defer will depend on the value of your home, which determines your equity limit. As a guide, most people can use 80% to 90% of the equity available in their home.

The limit on equity is to protect you from not having enough money to pay for the costs of selling the property (like solicitor fees) and to protect us against a drop in housing prices and the risk that it may not get all the money back.

Applying for a deferred payment agreement if your spouse or civil partner lives in your house

If you need to move into a care home but your partner lives in your home then we will consider your partner’s circumstances as well as your own.

Provided your partner lives in your home as their main or only home, and you are not estranged or divorced, then we will exclude the value of your home when it assesses your finances to work out how much you will have to pay for care and will not need a deferred payment agreement.

If you and another person part-own your property (and is disregarded) and you would otherwise be eligible for a deferred payment, we can consider a deferred payment.